Harper’s moment ‘seems like yesterday’

Though he’ll be in Autzen Stadium for this week’s matchup of top-10 teams from Oregon and USC, Matthew Harper can’t possibly have the effect he did in the same situation two years ago.

Now a coaching intern for the Ducks, Harper was the hero of the Ducks’ 24-17 win over the Trojans in 2007. The senior free safety intercepted USC quarterback Mark Sanchez twice that day, clinching Oregon’s win by picking off a pass deep in UO territory and returning it to midfield with 11 seconds left.

For a generation of fans who have come of age over the last decade, Harper’s play is remembered as fondly as Kenny Wheaton’s interception in 1994. For Harper, too, it’s the best memory of his two-year UO career.

“It seems like it was yesterday,” Harper recalled this week, as the No. 10 Ducks prepared to face No. 4 USC at 5 p.m. in Autzen on Saturday.

The Trojans scored with 4:44 left to get within a touchdown and regained possession after the Ducks went three-and-out. It took USC 10 plays to get to the UO 33-yard line, when Sanchez dropped back to pass, saw a tight end over the middle and fired.